Chapter 128: Chapter 128 Severe Punishment
“Where did you go?” Yang Tiancheng asked, noticing that Liu Yujuan’s face was ashen.

“Nowhere special, just out for a meal with some girlfriends,” Liu Yujuan relied on the same excuse she’d used before.

Yang Tiancheng felt that Liu Yujuan wasn’t telling the truth, but he didn’t press her further.

Now, his own matters were a complete mess. The boss had already decided today, to hand over the hotpot business to another deputy general manager, who would start anew with the selection and management of the location.

The hotpot business was not something the boss would give up on, but due to Chen Guanglei’s selfishness, which caused the group to suffer heavy losses, the boss was disappointed in him and wouldn’t let him get involved anymore.

The boss hadn’t assigned him any new tasks either, which was equivalent to making him sit on the bench.

If he didn’t resign on his own, he feared the boss would find various methods to target him and force him to resign.

His time at Meiwei Group was probably coming to an end.

He snorted coldly and left the house.

Feeling down, getting a drink with a friend seemed like the right thing to do.

Yang Jingsheng didn’t stay long and went out to have some fun.

For him, although he was also worried about his dad’s career, there was nothing he could do about it. Life had to go on, and so did his pursuit of beautiful women.

Now, only Liu Yujuan and Zhao Yulu were left at home.

Liu Yujuan went to Zhao Yulu’s room, where she was busy playing with her phone.

“Mom, you didn’t cook today. Did you go to see Dad again?” Zhao Yulu asked.

“How did you know?” Liu Yujuan essentially admitted it.

“I can tell from your demeanor. You must have been doing this lately. I guess Dad rejected you again, right? Just listen to me. Stop it; there’s no chance for you two,” Zhao Yulu said.

“I called him many times today. He didn’t answer. When I called in the afternoon, he picked up. I invited him to dinner, and he said he didn’t have time. So, I went to the entrance of Haidilao to confront him. Guess what I saw?” Liu Yujuan said.

“How would I know?” Zhao Yulu rolled her eyes, too lazy to guess.

“He was on a date with a female employee from Haidilao, going out to eat, all smiles and laughter,” Liu Yujuan’s face turned ugly.

“There’s nothing strange about that. He used to be a restaurant owner and didn’t socialize much, but now he’s the general manager of Haidilao. A man like him would definitely attract women,” Zhao Yulu was quite nonchalant about it.

“He’s chasing new women and won’t take me back. What does he think I am? What does he think you are?” Liu Yujuan’s face remained dark, as if Zhao Hai was a heartless betrayer.

“Mom, Dad has nothing to do with us anymore. Whatever he does, we can’t control him. It doesn’t matter if he’s dating a woman; even if he marries one, it’s his freedom,” Zhao Yulu saw things very clearly.

“Why would he marry another woman and not reconcile with me?” Liu Yujuan felt indignantly wronged.

“Mom, please stop this, you two are impossible,” Zhao Yulu sighed, trying to persuade her again.

“No, I had two daughters for him, and I’ve gained nothing. Now that he’s successful, he won’t take responsibility. There’s no way he can just get away with that. He must reconcile with me; otherwise, I won’t let this go!” Liu Yujuan said through clenched teeth.

“Mom, I really don’t want to criticize you anymore. Just do what you want,” Zhao Yulu felt Liu Yujuan had entered a dead-end, beyond persuasion, and gave up talking.

…

The twentieth day of the first lunar month.

The police have announced the punishment regarding Wang Ting’s false accusations against Xu Yang, under Chen Guanglei’s orders.

Wang Ting was ordered to compensate Xu Yang with two million yuan for defamation.

And to post an apology on her Douyin personal page.

Kaixuan Investment and Jia Sheng Guild were ordered to post apologies on their official Douyin pages.

And each to compensate Fengcai Guild with twenty million yuan for defamation.

Chen Guanglei himself was ordered to compensate Xu Yang with five million yuan for defamation, and to post an apology on his Douyin personal page.

These punishments must be carried out unconditionally.

One could say that Chen Guanglei’s scheming ended in complete failure.

This was the outcome even after Chen Ankang, his father, leveraged his networks.

Otherwise, the behavior of people like Chen Guanglei and Wang Ting would have been considered defamation and they would definitely face detention.

Not long after the police issued their punishment, the officials from the Douyin platform also released the punishment for Jia Sheng Guild and Wang Ting.

Jia Sheng Guild was punished for unfair competition and harming its rivals by not receiving traffic support for two months.

For Jia Sheng Guild, this was a severe blow.

It must be understood that on short video platforms, traffic equals money.

Douyin provides each guild with a certain level of traffic support.

Without traffic support, the visibility of the hosts from Jia Sheng Guild would be greatly affected, and their earnings would plummet dramatically.

Jia Sheng Guild was in an uproar.

The punishment for Wang Ting was much simpler: a lifetime ban from acting as a host on Douyin.

As for this outcome, Wang Ting had anticipated it, so she did not experience too much emotional upheaval.

From now on, she would be unable to make money through livestreaming.

Even if she went to other platforms, no one would reward her, and instead, she would be scolded.

Chen Guanglei, in his office, saw these punishments and his face turned an iron shade of blue.

The attempt to strike at Xu Yang not only failed but resulted in heavy losses for himself.

It truly was a case of lifting a rock only to drop it on his own feet.

“How on earth did Xu Yang find that evidence!” Chen Guanglei gritted his teeth, still puzzled about how Xu Yang had found the evidence.

…

In a blink of an eye, the one-month theatrical release of “War Panther 2” ended.

The total box office was one billion five hundred million.

This box office figure far exceeded everyone’s expectations.

Wu Jing became a member of the billion-yuan directors’ club.

Moreover, “War Panther 2,” being a movie that he wrote, directed, and starred in himself, and as a mainstream patriotic film, received unanimous praise from the officials.

This made him even more in demand.

During this period, many big shots took the initiative to call Wu Jing to discuss cooperation matters.

The messages were basically two-fold. If Wu Jing would shoot “War Panther 2,” they would invest whatever amount of money was needed.

If Wu Jing was not shooting “War Panther 2,” they had scripts available for him to direct.

Wu Jing naturally expressed that he would be shooting “War Panther 2.”

In fact, just a few days after the Spring Festival box office results were out, he had already started writing the script for “War Panther 2.”

He had already completed a first draft, with more revisions to follow to ensure the sequel would be even better than the original.

“War Panther 2” would have an international scope compared to the domestic setting of “War Panther,” and the sequel would be grander in scale while maintaining the same thematic core.

Before that, a celebration banquet was to be held.

On the day the movie ended its theatrical run, Zhao Yuxin had already decided that the celebration banquet would be hosted at the Jiangcheng Grand Hotel.

It was to make it convenient for Xu Yang.

After the decision was made, Wu Jing called Xu Yang.

“Mr. Xu, the theatrical release of ‘War Panther 2’ has ended, and the total box office is one billion five hundred million. We will host a celebration banquet at the Jiangcheng Grand Hotel. The date is set for the 15th of this month, which is one week from now, on a Saturday. I hope you can attend and feel free to bring your wife and your father-in-law as well,” Wu Jing said.